College Park Middle, Ladson SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on College Park Middle

College Park Middle is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in the Berkeley 01 district. It is located in Ladson, a census-designated place in the greater Charleston metro area that is primarily residential and suburban and has no incorporated town government. Ladson sits between Summerville, North Charleston, and Goose Creek and is defined by highway infrastructure rather than a walkable downtown. The area is experiencing steady population growth, and the school district tells a similar story: Berkeley 01 has been adding new students each year, and in 2022 voters approved a major bond referendum to build new schools and expand existing ones. District-wide attendance zone redistricting has already occurred to manage that growth. For families considering this school, the district context matters because current and future construction could shift which schools serve which neighborhoods.

College Park Middle’s student body is diverse. A substantial share of students are Black and a similarly sized share are Hispanic, with White students and students who identify as two or more races also making up sizable groups. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a data point that distinguishes this school from many others.

On state assessments, the school’s math proficiency rates are low, with about one in eight students testing as proficient or above in each grade level tested. English language arts results are stronger but still run below what many parents would hope for. In sixth grade, roughly three in ten students scored proficient or above in ELA; in seventh grade that figure rose to above four in ten; in eighth grade it sat near four in ten. Science results for sixth grade also show a low proficiency rate. Social studies testing data from several years ago showed better outcomes, but that assessment used different criteria and is not recent enough for the school to compare current performance. The data includes a flag indicating that cut scores were changed for ELA and science in the most recent assessment cycle, which means these results are not directly comparable to prior years. Parents may want to ask the school for more context on how the school is working to raise math proficiency in particular.

College Park Middle does not have high school grade levels, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school’s enrollment is of a size that allows for a typical middle school program, though data on specific offerings such as advanced courses, career pathways, or special education and English learner services were not available in the source material. The school’s website was not part of the provided data, so families would need to contact the school directly to learn about course access and student support offerings.

The housing market in the area shows home values slightly above the state benchmark. Rents have increased modestly. The typical mortgage payment in the area is high relative to the national median household income, and the unemployment rate has remained stable at a moderate level. The school sits in a fast-growing part of the Charleston region, which brings both opportunities and challenges: the district is actively building and redistricting to keep pace, but new families should confirm current attendance zones before making housing decisions.

This is a school where the academic results, particularly in math and science, are soft. The school serves a high-poverty student population, and state-testing data shows that the majority of students are not yet meeting academic benchmarks. A parent considering College Park Middle should look into what academic interventions and supports are in place, and how the district’s growth and construction plans may affect the school in the coming years.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 612%

School 12% · District 27% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 28% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 25% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 52% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 55% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 54% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Science

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 42% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 70% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

This schoolBerkeley 01, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income43%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income52%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income34%Higher-income55%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income23%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income20%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income7%Higher-income25%18 pp gap